In the 19111 century, people were free to hunt geese with nets in the Province of Drenthe. Wintering groups of geese (presumably Bean Geese) were claimed to be a pest because of ruining the fields sown with winter rye. Especially during periods of thaw in late winter the geese caused considerable damage to the seedlings. Even though the price for a goose was high in those days, netting geese was not popular, probably because of the necessity to keep trained tame geese and the sometimes low catching rate. More frequently farmers tried to obtain a permit to chase the geese with a rifle. Local and regional governments, however, were not willing to provide permits for this kind of hunting, because it could (and probably would) lead to poaching other game than geese.